Posted on 06/02/2003 5:06:44 AM PDT by snooker
Justice Department officials have linked terrorism watch lists to the system that performs background checks to clear gun purchasers, department officials said today.
"We have linked up various terrorist lists to be checked by the [National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS)]" a senior Justice Department official said. "But the system is there for the Brady Law. It is used only for preventing prohibited persons [such as felons and illegal aliens] from purchasing firearms, but mere suspicion of criminal activity is not necessarily a prohibitive factor."
For that reason, the Federal Bureau of Investigation is working with the State Department to determine which lists can be legally linked to the FBI's National Crime Information Center index, which is used by the instant background check system.
"Where legally permissible, we have done or are taking steps to include it," the official continued. He could not elaborate on whether no-fly lists could be included in the index, but he did note that the Violent Gang Terrorist Organization File has been integrated.
Improved technology has sped up the process for running checks on gun buyers and increased the number of those immediately cleared or denied for purchase, according to an FBI report released May 29.
Changes to NICS allowed for a 91 percent immediate determination rate, resulting in a "cleared" or "denied" response while the dealer is still on the telephone -- a 20 percent increase from the beginning of 2001, according to the FBI's 2001/2002 operational report on NICS.
A senior Justice Department official said the FBI was responding to a June 2001 directive from Attorney General John Ashcroft, and that the goal was 90 percent. Reducing processing speed for the remaining 9 percent of gun buyers depends on improving the criminal records systems at the state and local level. In fiscal 2003 the department will be distributing $48 million to states under the National Criminal History Improvement Program.
"We know it will never be 100 percent because the state of criminal history records is just not there," the official said. "We're still working toward that goal, but this is a significant, significant improvement, if not an overwhelming improvement."
The FBI also added to NICS the capability of searching immigration status information. Six databases belonging to the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services have been added to the databases used for illegal alien inquiries. The process was automated in July 2002.
In August 2002, the E-Check system was implemented, allowing licensed gun sellers to perform NICS checks electronically. This option cuts down on call center costs and traffic and provides a more accurate search because the data is entered directly, the report stated.
CBS = Constant Bull Shiiat
As you can tell the gun waiting period story by Lautenburg as fronted by CBS was just BS. Why couldn't 'the laut' have checked this out before going to CBS? Oh, he could. Gee that's funny I assumed from the CBS story we needed to do something, like install a waiting period or some such nonsense.
Note that even the immigration databases are linked in, as they should be.
They never stop trying.
Don't let ANY citizen possess a gun.
Isn't that the dems plan anyway? This seems fit into making it happen.
oops...
Even THAT won't do the job. The "black market" in firearms will ALWAYS exist. If gun ownership is totally prohibited to law-abiding US citizens, criminals (and terrorists) will still have them--the necessary guns will be stolen from army bases, smuggled in along with bales of marijuana, or MADE FROM SCRATCH.
Of course there are two things that will happen when this occurs. 1) Constitutional Reset via 2nd Amend. and 2) people will import machineguns and RPG's .... there's no incentive not to have the most powerful weapons versus a simple pistol or something.
Of course there are two things that will happen when this occurs. 1) Constitutional Reset via 2nd Amend. and 2) people will import machineguns and RPG's .... there's no incentive not to have the most powerful weapons versus a simple pistol or something.
I guess I didn’t put the sarcasm tag on my lines. Don’t worry I completely believe in the 2nd. Amend. and the RKBA.
I still can’t figure out how the gov’t can put CONTROL on something that “SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED” upon.
speaking as a machinist: you ain't wrong.
Heh! I figured you did---just pointing out the fatal logic flaw for the liberals/socialists from DU that might lurk here and who need to "be led by the nose" to the truth.
Of course, you know how liberals/socialists are--"you can lead'em to the truth, but you can't make'em THINK".
I know--being a bit of a "shade-tree" machinist myself. I recall a bit on the History Channel about this "modern mountain man"--who made his own guns from scratch (and I "do" mean from scratch--he smelted his own iron, blacksmithed his own barrels, made his own gunpowder, etc.). Now they were all black-powder flintlocks, but that was impressive as hell.
Also a bit of news film from Afghanistan about this REALLY CRUDE machine shop (about the most sophisticated machine tool had was a very old lathe)--turning out FULL-AUTO AK-47 clones.
"We've had so many experiences where a criminal act suddenly erupted in a moment of outrage with a perfectly well-behaving citizen," Lautenberg charged. "The fact is that the gun availability changed this person into a criminal."
We have all been wrong, it’s not the person firing the gun, it’s the AVAILABILITY that caused the crime.
Probably one of the *home factories* actually located in Darra, Peshawar. They turn out amazingly workable copies of most of the world's small arms, including a nicely-made copy of a Luger I picked up, and a drilled and filed by hand copy of the stamped WWII British Sten gun, turned out from a section of railroad rail. They both functioned just fine.
Thusly, a new link in the chain that someday will seek to bind us all is forged.
True, true...my question is, what happens when the whole chain is forged? (God forbid it does.)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.